Leeds unbeaten run comes to an end after last minute try

Leeds travelled to Knaresborough at virtually full strength. Andrew Wilkinson was a late withdrawal, with Orlando Harper taking his place on the bench. Paul Sebine returned in the second row, and skipper Neil Haywood returned to the bench after recovering from injury.

The game started in blustery rainy conditions. Leeds started playing into the wind and quickly made their presence felt. A ferocious hit by Ryan Croft from the kick off dumped a Knaresborough forward on his back and Leeds got the ball back. Leeds began to dominate possession and territory and seemed to be coping better with the condition. An early penalty gave Leeds a 3-0 lead and they continued to dominate possession. Knaresborough had some pacey wingers out wide and clearly had a plan to get the ball to them when in possession. However Leeds coped well with this.

The deadlock was broken midway in the 2nd half. Leeds took a well worked lineout and set a driving maul 40 metres out. They drove Knaresborough 35 metres down the pitch until the maul was brought down. Quick play from the ruck by Joe Walton found Jamie Fletcher on the wing who powered over in the corner.

In the second half Knaresborough were much improved and took the ascendency, keeping the ball for long periods in the Leeds half. Strong Leeds defence kept them at bay but the deadlock was broken as Knaresborough broke through to score. Knaresborough missed a couple of kicks at goal and it looked as though Leeds would be able to grind out the win. Leeds had 2 men in the sin bin in the last 20 minutes and had to dig deep to stay ahead. On the 78th minute , Tom Burnell kicked a difficult penalty to extend the lead to 6 points and the game seemed to be in Leeds grasp.

In the dying seconds, Leeds conceded a penalty near their own line. Knaresborough went for the tap and as Leeds tired with a man down, the scrum half managed to scoot from the ruck to score under the posts. Knaresborough managed to convert to win the game on the hooter.

Leeds were distraught after the game but will be pleased with their performance overall, with things to work on. Congratulations to Knaresborough. They are an extremely dangerous team out wide, and will be difficult to stop at home.

Man of the match was a tough choice. Honourable mention to our back line who defended so well against the Knaresborough backs, particularly Michael Tuke who was facing a brilliant winger. Jamie Fletcher had one of his best games in a Leeds shirt. Man of the match however went to Ryan Croft for his work rate, ball carrying and defensive work.

Donut of the day went to Neil Haywood, who marked his comeback after a long lay off by getting sin binned after 5 minutes for an alleged high tackle (disputed!).

Big thank you to the many fans who travelled over to support us. It was great to see you over there in big numbers despite the weather. Next up is Wibsey away.